Ned Gillette and John Dostal's book

Hi All,

I was wondering if anybody knows what the last edition of Ned Gillette's and
John Dostal's "Cross Country Skiing" is. I borrowed it (the '88 edition)
from the local library last year and am looking to buy it this year. Just
browsing amazon.ca and chapters.indigo.ca over here, and am getting
conflicting "last" editions like '94 and '96.

While on the topic, are there any other comparable "Bibles" on Cross Country
skiing that you'd recommend?

Off to wax and enjoy the day!

Mike.

I was surprised to read on the back cover of the last edition I saw that
Gillette had been shot and killed on an expedition, but I forget the date. He
was a character and a fine media ambassador for outdoor sports. He seemed to
have a sense of humor, at least he always seemed to be jokey when photographed.
Like he was having fun.

I've scanned as many of the how-to's as I could and basically concluded that
Gillette/Dostal is the best all-rounder.

That said, it still seems to lack something. Maybe it seems a little too
low-key in layout, like it's hiding its refreshing subject under the boring
hood of standard boilerplate how-to bookitis. Perhaps XC needs a break-thru
how-to along the lines of Richard's Ultimate, where the subject just LEAPS out
at you. Today's layout options are so flexible that we can find one that
matches the joy of this subject and the writers involved. Of course we don't
need a fancy layout, just something that lets the spirit of the sport come
thru.

Maybe Gillette and Dostal, even tho they're good, aren't really the break-thru
team as writers in some way. Those who can lift up a sport in the public eye
are rare. Caldwell is as charming and quietly inspiring as Eugene Sloan was for
cycling. Caldwell with his Putney School brought XC down to earth, and also
uplifted it, in a hearty, modest, enthusiastic New England college way---lots
of great Backyard trailbuilding and training ideas in that book! Maybe Gillette
and Dostal being a combo of pro-adventurer and pro-writer put them a bit out of
reach. Gillette's adventures, and those of Jan Reynolds who he did a lot of
adventuring with, basically just aren't democratic. They're ostensibly about
robust activity but really it's more about trust funds, at least that's the
feel I got. There's a we're-special Outside-mag upper-class exclusive feel
about their jetset skiing. Totally unlike Caldwell's "here's how you set a
track around your high school fields" feel. Even though Caldwell's world may
also have been uppercrust, his ideas were accessible to all.

But Hal Painter captured the spirit of XC like no one else---but his isn't a
how-to---he includes far more culture and even romance in his work. Gillette is
pictured in it, too, having fun.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * http://www.outyourbackdoor.com
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It's a totally different level "how-to" than the Gillette-Dostal book,
but the Subura team is giving out a cute little booklet with
sequential photos of skate technique on each page, that can be flipped
like a little animation book. Quite neat. I think they had a little
all-around guide also.

And supposedly the Unlimited DVD is really good -- both technically
and in terms of captivating users.

JT